Complicated
by Christina Wynnwood
Summary: Isabella Swan is a young werewolf heading off to college. Her life had been relatively simply up until that point. However, upon meeting a pale stranger with a secret like hers, she knows that things are about to get much more complicated.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello all! I thought that it was about time that I tried my hand at a Twilight fanfiction. I fell in love with the saga when it came out but really started to hate it after the movies butchered everything that Stephenie Meyer had worked for. Recently, however, I've learned to ignore the movies and just adore the books for what they are: Pure Genius. _

_Have you ever wondered what it would have been like if Bella has chosen Jacob? Me too. But I didn't want to write the cliche pairing. Instead, I've switched things up a bit. In my story, Bella is the werewolf and Edward is the vampire. Despite the Romeo and Juliet undertones, the two fall in love, even though the two species are sworn enemies.  
><em>

_Bella Swan is a young werewolf that heads off to college. Her life has been relatively simply and, upon meeting a pale stranger, she knows that things are about to get complicated. _

_I'm leaving the rating at T for right now. If there is a chapter with M content then I will be sure to warn readers beforehand. However, for the most part, it's rated T. _

_I don't own Twilight. _

_Please read and review. I'm curious to know what everyone thinks. Thank you in advance!_

_Enjoy!_

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><p>Being a werewolf isn't really all that complicated.<p>

There are quite a few misconceptions about us, to be honest. For one, we don't turn into vicious monsters under the full moon every month. Hollywood invented that myth long before my time. Second, if you're bitten by a werewolf, you won't turn into one of us. The werewolf gene is carried in our bloodline. You have to be born to a werewolf parent to be a werewolf child. Third, the mess about silver bullets is also a Hollywood creation. Leave it to the big time producers to make a gift sound like a horrible curse.

No, werewolves are very much like your everyday people. As a matter of fact, most of the time we look just like you. You can't tell who carries the gene just by looking at them. Even parents have no idea if their children will be wolves or full humans until they hit puberty. The transformations take over then and life changes drastically.

I don't remember much of my life before puberty came upon me. My mother died during childbirth and I never met my father. I was placed up for adoption after I was born. Though I spent the first fourteen years of my life in and out of foster homes, it wasn't until I reached fifteen that things suddenly took a turn for the worse. I don't talk about how I ended up on the Reservation but I'm always sure to make it clear that I was lucky that Sam Uley found me.

He was young at the time but he recognized me for what I was right away. He brought me into the La Push pack, teaching me about who I really was. Though I didn't know my parents, Sam and his wife, Emily, were the next closest thing.

I'm 21 now (that's in human time) and I've been with the La Push pack for seven years now.

As I was saying before, being a werewolf isn't really all that complicated.

Contrary to what you make think you know about us, we have complete control over our transformations (for the most part) and our forms are really just enlarged wild wolves. We don't walk on two legs, snarl, and seek human prey. The transformation comes at our will and we retain our human minds with ease. It's not a painful process and members of the La Push pack see it as a gift, rather than a burden.

I attended high school like the other boys of the pack and graduated a few years ago. At first, I wasn't sure what to do with my life. I was cautious about leaving Reservation after spending so much time there. The instincts of the wolf made me want to stick with family but, by the time that I had turned 21, I knew that I had to get out.

I made the decision to attend college, which was something that a majority of my family frowned upon. I could be rash and my anger levels rose often; I relied on the influence of my pack to keep my cool. But I knew that I couldn't stay there forever.

Being the only female wolf (except for Leah) got me a lot of attention from the younger men of the pack. I handled myself well with them but I ached to experience life for myself, outside of the world of the Reservation.

See? Not so complicated, like I said.

I was your typical young adult, just trying to get away from her family and start her life.

However, when I went off to college, my relatively simple way of life was shaken up by its very foundations.

"Isabella Swan?"

I looked up from the floor to see the receptionist smiling in my direction. She held my class schedule and room assignment in her hands, beckoning me to come take it from her. As I received my papers, my nose caught a whiff of a scent like Sandalwood. Stronger senses, even in human form, were part of the wolf gig. I smiled back at her, flashing my white teeth before thanking her and heading in the direction of my room.

Precariously, I tried to balance the stack of textbooks I carried while locating and unlocking my personal dorm room. I was known for being clumsy in this form and the last thing I wanted to do was have my potential classmates remember me for being the klutz from the hallway.

However, once I was inside and the door had closed behind me, the book tumbled to the floor as I sneezed. The small habitat still smelled strongly of cleaning supplies. This didn't bother me as much as it did my nose though. I preferred the scent of bleach to the possibly smelly humans that lived her before me.

I unpacked like any normal girl would, placing my books upon the shelf in a neat manner, and decorating to fit my tastes. After the bed was made and my clothing was hung in the closet, the last bit to make me feel at home was to hang the mirror on the door.

Sitting on my bed, I ran my fingers along the cool river rocks that Sam had set into the frame years ago. It had been a gift for my first birthday with the La Push pack. The glass was slightly scratched in the bottom corner but it didn't obstruct the image that looked back at me.

Unlike the other members of the pack, I was fair-skinned and blue eyed. I had soft, long brown hair that fell in gentle waves around my face. My looks baffled the others because most shape shifters were of the Native American faith. I looked more like I was from Northern Europe. With a sigh, I lifted the mirror to rest on the peg of the door.

With satisfaction, I surveyed my new environment.

The next morning came and my classes passed by quickly. From room to room, I picked up as much information as I could and archived it away to the back of my brain. When the final period came, I sat in the back of the class, waiting for the professor to introduce himself.

That was when **he** walked in.

And then things got complicated.


	2. Chapter 2

_This chapter was harder to write so it doesn't flow well. I wasn't sure how to write it out. I promise that the next one will be better. _

_I'm not sure if I mentioned this yet or not but when you review one of my stories, I'll be sure to go on your profile and review something of yours. There's a catch though. Your review has to be at least two lines long. I thought that was reasonable. You help me out and I'll help you out. _

_Please and thank you. _

_I don't own Twilight. _

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><p>Sitting on the bench in the first row, I was scanning the syllabus that I had picked up from the door when he walked in. Before my eyes even saw him, my instincts were quick to alert me that something was amiss. I felt the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stand straight up and a slight shiver ran through the rest of my body.<p>

I looked up from my paper and saw him enter the room.

His hair sat atop his head in stark contrast to the paleness of his smooth skin. He wore jeans and a cotton shirt. I could hear his leather boots tap on the floor. My first thought? He was beautiful. My second?

He wasn't human.

After spending seven years with my pack, I was an expert at spotting creatures pretending to be people. Hell, it's what I had been doing my whole life.

It was his movement that gave him away. I could tell by the way that he walked. His gait was smooth and precise. No human moved like that.

At first, I thought he might have been another wolf. The predatory stride was enough to make me consider it. But, like I said before, my pale skin was rare in the species. I had never seen another wolf like me. All of my pack members had the darker skin tone. I watched him with a certain interest as he moved to the back row, sitting ten rows behind me.

That's when the fan blew his scent my way. I recognized it immediately and had to stop myself from yelping out loud.

I had smelled them before but never like this particular one. The others odor had made me gag and choke in the air. His smelled much sweeter, like musk. It was almost pleasant but it didn't disguise what he was:

A _vampire_.

In the entire history of werewolves, we've only had one enemy. After I was welcomed into the La Push pack, Sam was quick to tell me about them. He explained that they were fast (like us) and their senses were enhanced (like ours). Their fangs could tear through our thick fur, though we were immune to their venom. They knew this and preferred just to rip us apart instead. The warring between us had an extensive history and now, in this day and time, we preferred to just stay away from each other.

We had the ability to tear them apart as well, making us one of the few creatures that could break through that hard-as-stone skin. That's probably why we avoided each other. Otherwise, there would be a lot of bloodshed.

The last (and first) vampires we had ever encountered were making a trip through our town. Sam hadn't let the younger members near them but we still knew the scent. They knew ours as well.

Now, in my History 101 class, there was a vampire sitting behind me.

Yes, that's a complication.

It was apparent that he hadn't noticed me. He hadn't been in the right place of the classroom to catch wind of what I smelled like and I hadn't moved from my seat since he came in. Unless I changed into a wolf in the middle of the classroom, he was completely oblivious to what I was.

Throughout the class, I tried my best to ignore him but the fan that sat behind us made sure to keep blowing through him and down to me. The scent was annoying at first, but soon, I became accustomed to it. For a vampire, he smelled pleasant, like he wouldn't repulse me in we were forced into closer contact.

The others had smelled of death. After all, they were dead themselves, right? Walking corpses. I shivered at the thought. I had a Hollywood zombie in a classroom with me. The fact that I wasn't completely sickened by what he smelled like concerned me. Why was I able to sit there and take it with an open nose?

Towards the end of the class, I had sunk into a stupor in my attempts to ignore his presence. I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I had completely missed what the professor said about partner projects and had to raise my hand to ask him to explain it again. Annoyed, he went on with it and added that he had already taken the liberty of selecting who would work with whom, as a way to get to know another classmate.

"Your name? Isabella? Your partner is Edward Cullen."

I looked around at the people in the class and searched their eyes. No one responded in a manner that would suggest that the name belonged to them. I shrugged and decided that I would wait until he dismissed the class to address the person-less name.

I was gathering up my books to leave when a silky voice addressed me from behind. "We'll be working on the project together, Isabella." It had a musical tone to it.

I turned and saw _him_ standing a few feet from me. The vampire. He wore a soft smile, showing very white teeth.

I opened and closed my mouth a few times, unsure of why he couldn't smell me. When I realized that I was downwind of him, I managed to stutter out "You're Edward Cullen?" Then, I wanted to get out before he could change his position.

He chuckled a little bit with a puzzled look on his face. "I am. I could tell that you were a little confused when you hadn't seen a more obvious partner. You hadn't looked my way so I decided I would catch up to you after class."

His voice was surprisingly smooth and I had to keep myself distracted from looking into his golden eyes for too long. Sam had told me that the golden coloration meant that he was well fed. Who he had been feeding on, I didn't want to know. I also knew that some vampires had the ability to put their prey into a trance. It made them easier to seduce and drink dry. I had to suppress a shiver at that thought.

"Oh, well, I should have looked behind me then. I'm sorry. Call me Bella." I stuck out my hand out of habit before I had thought it through. Before I could withdraw it, however, he took and shook it.

"Bella. Your hands are very warm." His smile was a little intoxicating and I took my hand back quickly.

"Yours are rather cool." I retorted back. Werewolves were naturally much warmer than any human and, of course, we were warmer than dead people.

He moved to stand beside me. I prayed that he wouldn't move below me. The fan would make sure that he caught my scent. Nervously, I made for the front door, like I was in some kind of a hurry. I gave him an apology on my way out, promising to speak to him next class after the project.

His facial expression was a little confused as he spoke a goodbye. My face turned red. I dropped a book and had to bend down to reach for it. Then, I made my way out as fast as I could.

Back in my room, I had to contemplate what to do now. I was pretty sure that he hadn't realized what I was. And he clearly had no idea that I knew what he was. However, if we were to get together to complete this project, surely, he would be able to tell that I wasn't what I appeared to be. That would make us instant enemies, no matter how polite we had been today.

I made the decision to go to the registrar first thing in the morning and change my last block class.


	3. Chapter 3

_Here's chapter three. Sorry that it's taken so long. Writing hasn't been easy lately without a laptop or inspiration. I'm actually surprised that I came up with this. _

_I'm sure I mentioned before that, if you review my story, I'll review one of yours. It's a deal that I have to give back to someone who has taken the time to read my stuff. I know how busy people can be, you know? _

_Anyway, I hope that you're enjoying what you're reading so far. I'm having fun writing it. I wanted to put my own spin on the relationship for so long. Some of the events in the book annoyed me so much. I wanted to portray Bella as a stronger soul in my fanfic. I wasn't fond of how she came off as so in the books. I didn't like Edward having all the power. _

_Of course, I don't own Twilight._

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><p>"You're telling me that there isn't a single History 101 class that's open right now? The adddrop period isn't even over yet!"

I tried to sound mature and even a little authoritative when I spoke to the Registrar the next morning but that façade quickly went away when he informed me that no other classes were open.

My voice took on a whiney quality as I considered telling him that it could be a matter of life and death. Literally.

"I'm sorry, Miss Swan, but everything else is full." His eyes didn't move from the computer. "And I can't let you drop the class without a transfer. It's mandatory in your first semester here. You'll just have to take it." He finally made eye contact. "Why did you want to switch again?"

I bit my lip and fed him my lies again. "The classroom is too crowded. I'm forced to sit in the back where I can't see the board for lectures." I looked down at my lap. "I can't afford glasses."

Though I tried to be as convincing as possible, I don't think he believed me. When I walked out of his office, I was still doomed to take History 101, vampire partner or no.

As I was walking down the hallway towards my Tuesday classes, I contemplated my options. I could always refuse to go to class and fail the course. Of course, I had already paid for it. Even away from that, I didn't want the poor grade pulling down my GPA in my very first semester. I could always attend and do as well as possible, avoiding Cullen for the duration of the time I spent in there. There was the option of asking the professor for a new partner, as well.

_That will have to be my next strategy_, I thought as I entered my Statistics course, very concerned with my current predicament.

I was lucky after my Tuesday courses were over. I went to the History instructor's office and found him about to leave. I rushed to his side and had to remind myself to back up. Humans didn't like being crowded generally. "Professor Baker? Do you have a moment?"

He looked flustered and then annoyed at being interrupted on his way out. "If you walk with me. I'm in a bit of a hurry."

I tailed him, lips moving quickly as I spoke. "My name's Bella Swan. I'm in your History 101 class. You assigned us partners for a project and I wanted to know if there was any way-"

"No, there isn't and you wouldn't be the first one to ask." He frowned as he stopped at an intersection of hallways as though he couldn't remember which wing to take. After a moment, he decided and I followed, my heart sinking. "I swear, the kids I teach get more and more antisocial every year. They always want to partner with their buddy or someone they know."

"I-"

"No, I set the partnerships up to avoid that. You kids need to get out more, experience meeting new people. Get your noses out of those blasted cell phones and laptops. So I'm sorry, miss, but I'm afraid that I'm not switching your partner." We had reached the parking lot now and he had taken a key ring out of his pocket. He started clicking the unlock button.

I saw a BMW light up a few rows down. With a brief word of parting, he was gone, eager to get home.

I stood there for a few moments, biting my lower lip. That hadn't gone as well as I wanted it to. _Perhaps I should have waited to ask him at a time that he wasn't in a hurry to get out of here._

My walk back to my room was a long one. I could feel the tendrils of stress coming down upon my shoulders. I wasn't sure how to handle this anymore. The most logical part of me demanded that I call Sam and ask him for advice. The human part of me shunned this idea, wanting to prove to myself that I could handle it. But what if I couldn't? What if something happened to me?

I had never faced a vampire before but I heard the stories that were passed down to me. The way that everyone else talked, it sounded like it was our instinct to fight them. It was our duty. This didn't quell my nerves. Once Edward got a whiff of what I was, I was pretty confident that he would try to tear me apart. Granted, I was clumsy; not fragile but I didn't want to be put in that position in any case.

Absorbed in my thoughts, I didn't hear my name being called the first few times. When I finally caught on, I saw the object of my thoughts coming at me from a hallway that branched to the right.

I watched as he moved gracefully and easily through the crowd of people like they weren't even there. He paid no attention to them in his pursuit of me, though a few of the females stopped dead to admire the perfection in his face. With a small laugh of horror, I realized that I had ceased my walking as well.

"Edward." I spoke his name carefully, taking a step back from him.

"Hello Bella." His voice was smooth, like velvet, and he smelled sweet to me. This confused me yet again because I thought that he should smell… well… dead. "I'm glad we crossed paths. I wanted to-"

He stopped in front of me and narrowed his eyes in confusion. I could see his nostrils moving and then, suddenly, he was still as a stone, eying me with a curious expression.

I fought to control my instincts. A thin sheen of sweat broke out on my forehead. I could feel the wolf inside of me uncurling from her ball, and watching Edward with wary eyes, on her toes, ready to spring away if needed.

I held my breath, determined to keep control of myself. I ignored my hands trembling and my knees shaking. "What did you want?" I spoke with resolution and sternness in my eyes. He recognized that I knew what he was. And he realized what I was.

He was so still, you would think he was a beautiful statue, constructed in the center of the hallway to deliberately stall student traffic. Finally, he moved and said stiffly, "Nevermind. It wasn't important. Take care, Bella."

I turned to watch him go and I realized that he was moving a little too quickly. It looked like he had lost a little bit of his composure. I shuddered and tore my eyes from his form, heading back to my room.


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey there! This is chapter 4 and I wrote it in Edward's point of view. The idea was suggested to me by MoreRandomThanYouWouldBelieve. It just recaps the first three chapters from Edward's lovely eyes. _

_I found that I'm not good at writing in his voice. Reading the books, I would think that he's so much more refined than how I've portrayed him. Oh well. I tried though, and sometimes that's all you can do. I'm much better at writing from the woman's point of view. You know. Me being a woman and all. _

_Anyway, reviews are appreciated and if you review something of mine, I'll review something of yours, whether it's in the same universe or not. I like broadening my horizons, anyway. Who doesn't? _

_As always, I don't own Twilight. I just like fiddling around with the characters that Stephenie Meyer has already created._

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><p>The first time I saw her, my eyes scanned right over her, as though she wasn't there.<p>

I entered the classroom like I would any other and proceeded toward the back row. That's where I always seated myself. It was bad enough that I would hear the heavy drone of dramatic human thoughts for the duration of the class, why would I want to deal with their scented hair care products and perfumes as well? Staying just in front of the fan was the only way to keep those scents at bay, if only a little.

But that's probably why I didn't notice her. She was seated in front of me on the ground row.

I had heard the professor's spiel once before. His thoughts were the only ones I bothered listening to. All of the others were the typical teenage babbles.

…_I hope my hair stays flat… this humidity is making it frizz out…_

…_That girl in my Calc class had the nicest legs… and what a pretty smile…_

…_The party this weekend needs booze… should I get a fake ID or have someone else buy it?..._

Like I previously stated: babble.

So I turned down the volume dial on my little gift and focused on the instructor. When he brought up partner projects, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. What was this? Elementary School?

Then she raised her hand and my attention was directed to her. She was the only one to speak all class, except the professor. Her voice was small as she asked him to repeat himself.

_Figures_, I thought, _another airhead girl daydreaming._

But it was at that moment, with my attention focused, that I found that I couldn't hear her trivial thoughts. While everyone else in the room had a constant stream of meaningless drabble at all times, nothing came from her.

The smallest of frowns crossed my lips then. I was sure that I had lost my focus for a moment. I had never once encountered someone that I couldn't read. I redoubled my efforts then but to no avail.

When the professor announced that she was my partner for his project, my frown deepened. I watched her head turn around the classroom, looking for whoever Edward Cullen might be but she stopped just before she could see me. Maybe she wasn't aware that anyone sat behind her. I couldn't tell because I couldn't hear her thoughts.

When the end of class came, I approached her to introduce myself and I realized that she was strikingly beautiful. Her pale skin was smooth and her brown hair blew gently about from the fan behind me. Her eyes were blue.

I watched as she looked a little confused, even a little afraid as she opened and closed her mouth a few times. My expression remained a little puzzled, which could be normal for a human just meeting someone new. "You're Edward Cullen?"

She said it like she dreaded it and I was careful to keep my face steady. Why did she react like that?

"I am. I could tell that you were a little confused when you hadn't seen a more obvious partner. You hadn't looked my way so I decided I would catch up to you after class." I focused on even speech. She kept looking to the door, like she was in a hurry and wanted to get away.

"Oh well, I should have looked behind me then. I'm sorry. Call me Bella." She offered her hand to me, a friendly human gesture. However, a human wouldn't have seen her try to withdraw it for a split second, as though she had second-guessed herself. I grasped it before she could.

I kept the shock from my face. Her hands were **hot**; not just a little warm, but hot. "Bella. Your hands are very warm." I realized that mine were probably freezing but that didn't justify the temperature of hers.

She was quick to retort "Yours are rather cool." I noticed that she didn't use the word "cold". Someone had taught her to be very diplomatic with her speech. I couldn't help but smile. I moved to stand beside her but she suddenly looked a little panicked and headed for the door, uttering a quick goodbye.

It was the first time that I was left staring after someone. I had to hide my smile as I watched her drop a book and bend down to retrieve it. Humans were… quirky creatures. Being around the grace and agile persons of my kind almost made me almost appreciate how clumsy they could be.

What bothered me the most was her exit. It stayed with me for the rest of the day, all through the night, and for most of the sunlight on Tuesday. I wondered why she left like that, so quickly. Furthermore, why did I care?

That was easy. I had been human once. In a place where I could hear the thoughts of anyone that I cared to, she was the exception. That alone, drove me crazy. All I needed was one look inside her head and then I would know why she parted so quickly.

Classes on Tuesday dragged on as I expected them to. This being the start of the term, I was hopeful that I would have Bella in another class with me. However, at the end of the class day, I was disappointed. I stalked through the hallways afterwards and headed for the dormitory building.

I was lucky. I saw her crossing the intersection of the hall in front of me. Strangely, I hurried towards her, calling her name, something that was quite uncharacteristic of me. I took little notice to the people that had stopped to stare, I only cared that she had stopped, her blue eyes locked on mine.

I watched as she chuckled a little. I burned to know what she was thinking.

"Edward." Her voice was small, subdued and she stepped away from me.

"Hello Bella." I took a deep breath. "I'm glad that we crossed paths. I wanted to-"

And then it hit me.

Her scent travelled through my nostrils and into my brain, alerting me to what she was right away. Suddenly it all made sense.

I watched as her forehead broke out into a sweat with me standing this close to her. She had no control over it. It was instinct. My thoughts raced back to the classroom yesterday. I was upwind of her the whole time. She could smell me, the dead quality of my skin, but I couldn't smell her.

I had encountered members of her kind before but she was different. I could scent the wolf on her but she smelled sweetly appealing to me. My face was painted in confusion and I balled my hands into fists, standing as still as possible. If I didn't move… then maybe I wouldn't lose control of myself…

"What did you want?" Her voice carried a tone on it that I hadn't heard before. To me, it sounded almost like a warning. She knew I was a vampire and she knew that I had finally recognized her for the wolf she was. What she didn't know about was the mental turmoil I was currently going through. Why did she smell so good?

"Nevermind." My words were stiff now as I tried not to breathe. "It's wasn't important. Take care, Bella." It was my turn for an abrupt exit. Eager to leave her side, I moved down the hallway a little faster than I had intended to.


	5. Chapter 5

_That time of year has come again! The college semester is back into full swing so I'll be posting less than usual since I don't have the time that the blessed summer allotted me. I hope to still get a few chapters up every week but who knows where that will go? _

_I hope that this chapter is appreciated. I like how I wrote it and I can't wait to write what happens next._

_Please leave me some reviews! They're like little gifts for my work. I love hearing what people have to say about my writing!_

_As always, I don't own Twilight. That belongs to Meyer in all her glory!_

_Enjoy!_

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><p>By the time I had locked myself back in my dorm room, my breath was coming in quick little gasps. Watching him stride away had motivated me to do the same. It hadn't helped the fact that a few students had stopped to stare at me, looking after Edward with looks of confusion on their faces. However, it wasn't just my lungs that worked harder and quicker.<p>

My heart was pounding against my chest and, in the quiet room, I could clearly hear it. With shaking hands and arms, I put my books on my desk, laced my fingers together, and placed them on top of my head. Using my diaphragm, I took sweet oxygen into my body, focusing on the necessary control that I was in need of at that point.

Adrenaline: that's what I was feeling from standing so close to a mortal enemy.

My instincts were roaring at me, desperately insisting that I had been foolish. I had been that close to death… and death's name was Edward Cullen.

As my breathing and heart rate slowed down, my body stopped its' shaking. I allowed my arms to come down to rest at my side then decided to lie down on top of my comforter. Relaxing was imperative at this point.

I know that I said before that the transformation came at will but that wasn't entirely true. Contrary to what lore says, werewolves change only by the light of the full moon. That is utter bullshit. Yes, we do have control of our voluntary transformations for the most part, but sometimes, when our instincts kick in or we get too angry, we're forced to change for our protection.

Standing in front of Edward forced me into a state of panicked calm. If I had allowed myself to reach a certain level of anxiety, there would have been an over-sized wolf racing down the hall.

I looked around my room. _And it doesn't look like I would fit in here too well either. _

With a sigh, I was able to sit up and reach for my cell phone, which I had left sitting on the bedside table that morning. I slid it opened and smiled at my messages from Jacob.

Jacob Black was my best friend from the La Push Reservation. He looked a lot like the other werewolf boys I knew but there was always something special about Jake to me. He could be so goofy and never failed to make me laugh, especially when I needed it. In his Russell wolf form, we would run across the beaches together. Though he had always been physically stronger than me, I was much quicker and could often lose him on the sand.

He had been particularly sad to see me leave for college, which wasn't surprising, really. Though we all had the pack to relate to and seek company from, he was my favorite companion and I was his. Though a few years younger than me, he held a maturity level that was like my own.

His messages were quirky, asking me to call him as soon as I could and that he missed me. I decided that I was give in to his request after getting something to eat for dinner. My stomach was growling, starved from the use of adrenaline earlier.

That thought brought the frown back as my thoughts went to Edward again. What was I going to do about him?

The logical thing would have been to change schools, forget about that class-switch nonsense. I mean, if you were confronted by your own personal Grim Reaper, you would take off too, right? It what I ached to do. But I had already put down roots here. I was willing to leave. Besides, maybe he felt the same way towards me and he would poof?

That didn't seem likely. I hadn't smelled fear from him like I'm sure I was covered in. I couldn't get past that scent of death to really gauge how he was feeling. Instead, I had focused on how still he was, like a perfect statue.

On my way to the cafeteria, I cringed at my choice of words. I was aware that vampires were supposed to look appealing to humans but to werewolves? Weren't we supposed to be immune to that hunting technique of theirs? We should be able to see the evil in his face, feel the hate in his eyes…

_But there hadn't been hatred. Mostly curiosity and confusion. _I chased a tater tot around on my plate while I thought with a little frown over my lips.

Frustrated, I shoveled the food into my mouth and jogged back to the dorms with only one thought on my mind: Jacob. I had to call Jacob.

"_Hello_?" His voice was crisp and deep on the line. I felt myself sink onto my bed in relief.

"Hey Jake! How are you?" I imagined that he could hear the smile in my voice and it made him smile as well.

"Bella! Hey! I'm great! I miss you! How's college going?" Bright and cheery. That was what I needed from him.

I probably talked at a million miles per hour, filling him in on my classes and everything else. I purposely left the vampire out, knowing he would worry himself.

But by the end of the conversation, he could tell that something was bothering me.

"I just miss you, Jake. I haven't been away from La Push for a long while."

"Uh huh… what is it, really?"

"Well… college is great…" I hesistated, unsure of what to say.

His tone sounded worried now. "But?"

"There's a vampire here. On campus."

I heard the line go dead.


End file.
